Where Chefs Eat Overseas: Dashi’s Nathan Turley Knows Where To Find Stockholm’s Best Cardamom Buns

Nathan Turley is a long way from home. The expat Aussie chef grew up in bayside Brisbane with Stradbroke Island “a stone’s throw away”, and fishing, catching mud crabs and trips to Redland farm for strawberries were core childhood memories.

Today you’ll find him on the other side of the world at Dashi, the 16-seat Japanese diner he runs with Harry Jordås in Stockholm’s Östermalm district. Styled after an izakaya, it serves a refined osusume (chef’s recommendation) menu of 11 dishes powered by Nordic ingredients – with dashi as a key component and saké to match. 

In 2024, two years after opening, the restaurant was awarded one Michelin star, following a successful pop-up at Suzume in Tokyo. “I remember opening the email and running into the kitchen to tell Harry. A few seconds later, a bottle or two of champagne was open,” Turley tells Broadsheet. 

When he’s not serving Norwegian scallops with corn-miso puree, Gotland corn and dashi gel, he’s downing double kabanos (sausages) and enjoying Sweden’s fika culture with coffee and kardemummabullar, the country’s signature cardamom buns.

“Stockholm has a great food scene, and it’s been a great city to run a restaurant,” he says. “The only challenge is sourcing produce during the winter.”

A perfect day out for a visitor: Spring and summer are the best times to visit. I’d take them to Gamla Stan, the old town. Then we’d hop on the ferry to Djurgården to see the city from a different perspective. Of course, we’d go to the ABBA museum, and the Vasa Museum to see Sweden’s oldest preserved royal merchant ship. Then it’s lunch in the sun at Rosendals Trädgård, followed by an easy stroll back to town for an afternoon wine at Bar Ingrid or Savant.

Favourite cafe and coffee order: Stockholm has a strong coffee scene and culture, but I really enjoy bryggkaffe. It’s part of Sweden’s daily routine, and the Dashi team always has a pot brewing. If I was to recommend coffee from anywhere, though, I’d say Stockholm Roast. They have a shop a little off the tourist trail, and we serve their coffee at the restaurant. 

Best takeaway lunch: My favorite takeaway spots revolve around Sweden’s staple fast food – the trustworthy korv, or hotdog. Best in town are Brunos Korv in Östermalm, or Günters in Vasastan (double kabanos all the way). The queues for Village Bagels have been a sight to behold, and owner David Harris has brought a touch of New York to Stockholm – it’s much appreciated.

Best place for drinks and snacks: Svartengrens in Vasastan. It’s my second home, and the place where I worked when I first came to Sweden. It’s a Swedish steakhouse that cooks dry-aged meat to perfection – but it’s also as simple as you like. Order a drink and share some homemade charcuterie. 

Go-to for traditional Swedish food: Obviously there are bucketloads of classic Swedish food in Gamla Stan, but it’s worth digging deeper to find some winners off the tourist trail. Prinsen, Pelikan and Tranan are all beloved restaurants with Swede-approved classics such as meatballs, senapsill (herring) and råraka (crispy potato cakes). Ulla Winbladh also does a great Swedish lunch, and is close to both the Vasa and ABBA museums. For a potato hasselback, the best in town is at Hantverket.

Special occasion spot: In spring and summer, I’d say the restaurant at Ett Hem, with a seat in the hotel’s garden. It serves the best seasonal produce from Sweden in simplistic style. A year-round option is Triton, run by three close friends I met working at Gastrologik who serve an amazing set menu for an affordable price. My winter love is a Wiener schnitzel and Pilsner Urquell from Krogen Soldaten Svejk. It’s nothing fancy, but sometimes eating something you’ve missed all year counts as a special occasion. 

Best dessert: July is always a beautiful time for desserts with berries in every menu. (I’m originally from Brisbane and still miss the Ekka’s iconic strawberry ice-cream.) For Sweden’s famous Princesstårta, head to Sturehof, and Oscar II’s tårta at Operakällaren. 

Plenty of Australians might be familiar with the Swedish tradition of fika; two well known places with the best pastries, particularly the famous kardemummabullar and kanelbullar (cardamom and cinnamon buns) are Svedjan in Södermalm, and Lillebrors and Socker Sucker in Vasastan.

Favourite late-night feed: Late-night feeds aren’t as much of a thing here as they are in Australia, unfortunately. The options are limited to a burger chain called Max or a very questionable kebab. However, there’s a little wine bar, Babette, in Vasastan that serves great pizza and wine till 1am.

Hidden gem: There’s a great couple doing Thai food at Ping Soder, which is extraordinary for Sweden. Las and Eliot’s dishes include stir-fried cow’s tongue with holy basil and chilli, and Swedish squid fried with their eggs in squid ink and palm sugar. The only downside is that it’s a pop-up, though they’re currently looking for a permanent home. 

Bucket-list restaurant: I have to say Koan and Jordnær, both in Denmark, because I celebrated the win of our first Michelin star with their respective head chefs, Kristian Baumann and Eric Kragh Vildgaard. Eric is a giant to me in life and the cooking world, but both chefs are extremely talented and down to earth. 

The Stockholm restaurant you think best represents the city: Sturehof is a Stockholm institution that’s been around for decades, and carries a lot of weight in the city’s food and nightlife scenes. Go for Swedish classics (anything seafood is good) and people-watching all day long. The kitchen is open late, which is great for us hospitality workers.